Container with a removable handle



Aug. 8, 1967 o. FRIBERG 3,334,782

' I CONTAINER WITH A EEMOVA BLE HANDLIE Filed Feb. 1, 1.965 4Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 8, 1967 o. FRIBERG CONTAINER WITH A REMOVABLE HANDLE4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 1, 1965 Aug. 8, 1967 o. FRIBERG CONTAINERWITH A REMOVABLE HANDLE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 1, 1965 Bali g- 8,1967 o. FRIBERG 3,334,782

CONTAINER WITH A REMOVABLE HANDLE Filed Feb. 1, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 4United States Patent Office 3,334,782 Patented Aug. 8, 1967 ClaimsHandles permanently fixed to household utensils, in particular forcooking purposes, have the drawback of being cumbersome, which issometimes a nuisance, especially in certain dwelling houses where thekitchen is very small.

The present invention is intended to remedy this drawback. Its object isto provide a container, e.g. a sauce-pan, with a removable handle, saidcontainer being characterized by a device for fastening said handle,comprising, on the one hand, a sliding coupling device, a part of whichis permanently fixed to the periphery of the container whereas its otherpart is fixed to the handle, and, on the other hand, a semi-automaticdevice for locking said handle in its position of use.

Th features of the present invention will be disclosed hereafter,reference being had to the accompanying drawing, in which FIGS. 1-12refer to a first form of embodiment and FIGS. 13-15 to a second form ofembodiment. More precisely,

FIG. 1 shows the male part of the coupling device fixed to a container,

FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 represent said male part alone, in front view, in sideview, and in cross-section along line x-x of FIG. 2, respectively,

FIGS. 5 and 6 represent the female part fixed to the handle,

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal section of the female part, taken along liney-y of FIG. 5,

FIG. 8 is a side view showing the female part fixed to the handle,

FIG. 9 is a more detailed longitudinal cross-section of the handle,

FIG. 10 shows the handle with the female part being pushed upwards onthe male part,

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10, but showing the handle with itsfemale part fully fixed to the male part, and

FIG. 12 shows two containers 6 and 6' placed one in the other, eachbeing provided with the male part of the coupling device.

FIG. 13 is a transverse section of a second form of embodiment of thedevice according to the invention, with its latch,

FIG. 14 is a front view of the female part of said device and,

FIG. 15 is a horizontal cross-section of said device.

FIG. 16 is an elevational view showing the handle and the trigger forthe embodiment of FIG. 13.

In FIGS. 1-12, which show a first form of embodiment of the invention,FIG. 1 represents the male part 1 of the coupling device, permanentlyfixed to the container 6, said male part 1 having grooves 2 and 2 alongits vertical sides.

Said male part 1 is shown in FIG. 2 with its grooves 2 and 2'; in saidmale part are provided stop-screws 3 and 3' at the top of grooves 2 and2', holes 4 for screws or rivets serving to fasten part 1 to thecontainer 6, and hole 5 for housing the extremity of the latch of saidcoupling device.

In FIG. 3, the groove 2 and the stop-screw 3 can be seen; FIG. 4 showsthe hole for housing the latch; the female part 7 such as shown in FIGS.5 and 6 is bent along the vertical sides thereof with a view to formingrunners a and a intended to slide upwards in the grooves 2 and 2 of malepart 1, when the handle is being put in position, and to finally abutagainst the stop-screws 3 and 3. The latter are so located as to allowthe latch to be introduced into hole 5 of part 1, once the handle is inposition.

FIG. 7 shows the runners a and a sliding in corresponding grooves 2 and2' of part 1 (see FIG. 1).

In FIG. 8, the female part 7 is shown fixed to the handle 15 by means ofa screw 14. In this figure can also be seen the latch 10, the controldevice of which is partly embedded in the handle, and the trigger 13allowing to remove latch 10 by hand, in the direction referenced A. Thelocking in the direction referenced B is automatically produced underthe action of a spring 12.

FIG. 9 shows the latch 10 with its pin 11 and spring 12, the whole beinghoused in recess 9.

In FIG. 10, the female part 7 is pushed upwards on male part 1 bycausing the runners a and a to slide in grooves 2 and 2' (see FIG. 1) ofpart 1. The movement of part 7 in part 1 is bounded by the stop-screws 3and 3' in such a manner that the latch in register with hole 5 of part 1can penetrate into its housing, thus locking parts 1 and 7 together.

Screws 3 and 3 can be replaced by another stopping device, for exampleby a corner plate.

The handle 15 as shown in FIG. 11 is fixed to the container 6 by thecoupling device, locked by latch 10.

For mounting the handle 15 in this first form of embodiment, it issimply needed to place said handle under the male part 1 permanentlyfixed to the container 6 and to cause the part 7 borne by the handle 15to slide upwards until it abuts against the stop-screws 3 and 3' of part1, latch 10 being still maintained in recess '9 by acting upon trigger13. As soon as screws 3 and 3' have stopped part 7 in its travel, themere release of the trigger will cause the latch 10, under the pressureof the spring 12, to be automatically driven to the bottom of hole 5 ofpart 1, thus locking parts 7 and 1 which connect handle 15 to container6.

For removing the handle from said container, it is simply needed tounlock the coupling device by removing the latch 10 from its housing 9by means of trigger 13, and to disengage part 7 from part 1 by causingit to slide downwards.

The second form of embodiment of the invention, such as shown in FIGS.13-15, differs from the first form of embodiment in that the male partof the coupling device is fixed to the handle, instead of being fixed tothe container, whereas the female part is fixed to said container.

In FIG. 14, the female part is shown as constituted by a tube ofrectangular cross-section with holes for the passage of the latch, andin FIG. 15, the male and female parts are shown fitted together. In thissecond form of embodiment, whereas the female part is constituted by atube 1 of rectangular cross-section, the male part 7 is in the form of aU, the legs 7a and 7b of which are very near each other for allowing thepassage of leg 7a in the rectangular tube, on the one hand, and theintroduction of the right-hand part of said rectangular tube betweenlegs 7a and 7b of part 7, on the other hand. Part 7 carries the lockingelements which comprise the latch 10 with its pin 11 and spring 12, thewhole being housed in the recess 9 integral with part 7; a trigger (notshown) controls latch 10.

For mounting the handle, it is required to place the latter, on whichpart 7 is permanently fixed to the locking device, at the foot of thefemale part 1, and to introduce the leg 7a of male part 7 into tube 1,while maintaining the latch 10 in its housing 9 by means of the trigger.Once the bottom of U-shaped part 7 has abutted against the lower portionof female part 1, and holes 5 and 8 of part 1 are thus in register withlatch 10, the mere release of the trigger will cause the latch, underthe action of spring 12, to penetrate into holes 8 and 5, and lock themale and female parts of the coupling device.

For removing the handle, it is necessary to reverse the operating stepsby withdrawing the latch 10 from housing 9 provided in part 7, and towithdraw the leg 7a from said part 7 by pushing it downwards.

Of course, changes of detail can be made in the device, without goingbeyond the scope of the present invention; in particular the trigger 13can be located above the handle.

What is claimed is:

A container with a removable handle comprising a container proper, ahandle having an enlarged lower section, a double sliding couplingcomprising a female member consisting of a tube of rectangularcross-section secured to said container; a U-shaped male member securedto said enlarged lower section of said handle; said male member having arecess on the lower part thereof and two legs, one of said legs fittingin said tube; a spring-actuated latch housed in said recess projectingthrough said male and female members, a trigger positioned on theunderside of said handle and connected to said latch whereby said latchmay be operated by the index finger of the user of the container.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 324,671 8/1885 Drake 161141,271,530 7/1918 Cerpial 220-94 1,818,284 8/1931 Stephens 161 141,920,330 8/1933 Towns 220-94 2,497,384 2/ 1950 Young.

2,527,447 10/ 1950 Perl 220-94 2,985,095 5/1961 Pitavy 161 14 3,187,8596/1965 Maziarka 16-114 FOREIGN PATENTS 570,154 6/ 1945 Great Britain.879,053 10/ 1961 Great Britain.

20 THERON E. CONDON, Primary Examiner.

RAPHAEL H, SCHWARTZ, Examiner.

